"Wait till you meet him," said the driver, shrugging his shoulders.

"If he stops the stage I shall die of fright," said the
cadaverous-looking man. "I know I shall."

"Have you a good deal of money with you?" asked a fellow passenger.

"I have ninety-seven dollars and a half," answered the other, soberly.

"Better lose that than die! If you give it up, there won't be any danger
of bodily injury."

The cadaverous-looking man groaned, but did not reply.

Gradually they ascended, for they were among the mountains, till they
reached a narrow ledge or shelf scarcely wider than the stage. On one
side there was a sheer descent of hundreds of feet, and great caution
was requisite.

Just at the highest point a horseman appeared around a curve and
stationed himself directly in front of the stage, with a revolver
pointed at the driver.

"Stop and give up your money, or I fire!" he exclaimed.

It was the dreaded highwayman, Dick Hawley.